Look Away
by The Omniscient Bookseller
Summary: (used to be "Untitled") Everyone writes about the newsies being a family. Not all families are good, however, like the ones the newsies came from. Or the one they live in now, which isn't at all what it seems to be....Rated for content and language.
1. Prologue: Fate and Fortune

Disney owns it all.

Note: I am very very very proud of this. It's hopefully going to be a big old chaptered fic. *dances* And I'm going to try to make the chapters long. And maybe I'll even do shoutouts, if people review. Maybe. I'm not sure. Also, if you have any ideas for the title, please tell me. I'm considering "Family", "After Dark", and "Fate and Fortune" currently, but I don't really like any of them. 

Note the Second: This contains un-disneyfying. You shouldn't read past the prologue if you don't like your favorite newsies being made evil. Just warning you. 

Note the Third: If you care, this prologue is being narrated by Pie Eater.

~*~

Fortune gave you parents. Fate took them away. Fortune kept you alive. Fate brought you here. From then on, you're on your own. Maybe fate steps in once in a while to do you a nasty turn, but fortune's finished with you forever. Or at least until you get out of this damn place. Things aren't what they look like on the outside, let me tell you that much. You gotta know the rules if you want to survive. But you can't know them too well. You have to know what's going on, but you can't know too much. You take one side, you take the other, or you stay out of the whole thing. You're likely to get beat up either way. And you can't say a damned thing. You can buy protection for a high price, but you run the risk of spending all you've got and not having anything left when you need to buy your life. And trust me, you will. Of course, everything you do here is a risk. You think here, you take a risk. You wake up here, you take a risk. Hell, you _die_ here, you take a risk. It's everyman for himself. None that sticking up for each other helping the others through the hard times crap is true. No one looks out for you, they just look away when you come in with your face all busted up, maybe by one of them, maybe by a stranger. God knows why we all stay. It's not much of a way to survive. Maybe we're afraid to leave. 

~*~

Review, please! *begs* This one's kind of a long shot, I'd like to know what you think.


	2. Leaders

Not belonging to me. 

Hey! My birthday's on the twenty-second! Write me something! Like a story…or a review…*hinthintnudgenudge*

Note: this is in the past. Still narrated by Pie Eater. Oh, and sorry about the indents and lack there of. Word went wacko on me. And yes, Race will be explained in the next chapter. And to make this even longer, Flips is a real character, just was never named in the movie. He's that black guy who's snapping in the beginning and who waves his hat around and screams "whoohoo" at the beginning of TWWK. 

~*~

I was sitting on the stairs, back to the wall, where I could see everyone below me. I had a cigarette and was pretending to be interested in a copy of yesterday's paper. It'd only been three weeks or so since I'd first showed up at the Lodging House, but I already knew it was best to look busy. Not too busy to find time for someone, though. It was a fine line we were walking. Racetrack was looking around the room for someone to play cards with- he was probably low on money again. I was careful not to meet his gaze.

Just when I thought I was in danger of being noticed, the old door slammed open against the wall. Tiger strode into the room, immediately commanding everyone's attention. The left side of his face was dark with bruises and blood and one arm hung awkwardly. He was pale, but his gray eyes snapped harshly as he delivered his message. 

"Dey got Coal." He stood there for a long moment before turning and disappearing back into the streets. 

Coal was our leader, the head of the Manhattan boys. Tiger was his second in command, always angry, and fiercely loyal. A group from Brooklyn had found the two of them. Tiger got away, Coal didn't. They found him again, though. He never came back after he left that day. Manhattan was bad, a war zone after it happened. But Brooklyn has always been and always will be worse. You couldn't pay me all the money in the world and offer me the position of president to set foot in Brooklyn after dark. 

I was almost afraid to go to sleep that night. Well, more afraid than I'd grown used to being. Whispered plans and threats flew around the bunkroom. You could feel the tension stretching across the air. If Tiger didn't come back the next day, we'd be left without a leader. Which meant that any boy who felt he had the right to the post could try to claim it. And that meant a war within Manhattan. A war which could end up costing you your life. 

Tiger never returned, of course. Bumlets found him dead. Of course, he might have been found before he died, I don't know. You see, Bumlets was one of Jack's most loyal boys. And Jack wanted to be leader. As soon as the news reached the lodging house, the fight began. It wasn't all physical, by any means, though there were quite a few confrontations between Jack's boys and Kid's boys. No one sold alone that day, or any of the days afterwards. I sold with Jake, though we never really spoke. We were both determined not to take a side. Supporters of either person could be very persuasive, especially when they got you alone. The only others who stayed out of the whole affair were Race and Skittery, but no one bothers them. 

The first real fight was that afternoon in the square. Snoddy, Swifty, and Flips were there from Kid's side, Itey, Snitch, and Dutchy from Jack's. I'm not really sure who won, but they were all in pretty bad condition afterwards. Jack and Kid themselves weren't there, of course. They never got into fights and always kept someone near them. They wouldn't have been safe otherwise. After the fight, some of the boys started coming in beat up. The first day Specs and Boots, from Kid's side. The next day, Snipeshooter and Crutchy, from Jack's side. They never could say who did it, but we all had our guesses. The only people who never got too involved were Mush and Bumlets. They acted as a kind of bodyguard. Of course, they were probably responsible for some of the roughing up. Jake and I even got some of it. Swifty, Snoddy, and Specs had us pretty well when a group from Jack's side showed up. I'm not sure what would've happened if they didn't get involved in fighting each other. 

Everything came to a head about a week later. At the Distribution Center that morning, both Jack and Kid had tried to claim first in line. This started some blows flying between their followers, and then between the two of them. Buying papers was completely forgotten, and anyone could have gone and gotten theirs, but the only person who dared to was Racetrack. The bulls showed up on the scene and we all had to run for it. We missed the morning edition, except for Race and Skitt. Jack and Kid never came back to the Lodging House with us. They disappeared. The amount of fighting that day was incredible. Even Mush and Bumlets and the younger kids got involved. I spent most of the day in a restaurant, only returning to the Lodging House a few minutes before curfew. Jack and Kid still hadn't come back. The next morning, though, they returned as we were washing up. They were both covered in bruises, scabs, and dried blood. Jack stood a step in front of Kid, and smiled that sick, self-satisfied smile at us all. 

"Why don't you tell them who their leader is, _Blink_?" Kid stepped out from behind him and the room fell silent. He was almost unrecognizable, his face was so covered in bruises and blood. And he wore a patch over one eye. 

"Jack's our leader, of course. He'll be a fine one." Then he grinned at us, the same exact grin he used to have. There was no trace of pain, anger, or regret. "C'mon, we've got papes to sell." 

No newsie ever cries. It's an unwritten law. Mush looked pretty close to it, though. So did Boots. Everyone was silent, staring at the two boys, both so seemingly happy. Then we started towards the door, Jack's followers first. They were quick to grin and laugh and everything was normal within a few seconds. 

Now, of course, it doesn't matter who supported who, except in terms of who Jack favors. Everyone loves him now. Everyone's perfectly loyal. Because you just don't oppose Jack Kelly if you want to stay alive. Especially now that Kid Blink's his devoted second. No one will ever know exactly what happened, but we saw him break Kid's spirit. One of the fiercest, most tenacious, independent newsies is now just his puppet. 

No, whatever you do, you don't oppose Jack Kelly.

~*~

EEEEEEEEEE! *bounces* reviews reviews reviews! And only on a really short prologue! Wow! I'm honored, you guys. So I will try my hand at shoutouts. 

The masked ownder: I think he does need a hug. And no, Pie Eater is not related to Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, that I know of. ^_^

Crunch: Oh…wow…thank you. I'm sorry about the evil newsies, but it's necessary. See what I mean? *points at above chapter* forgive me, please! I don't think they're really like that!

Thumbsucker Snitch: Evil!Snitch….hehe…currently, I haven't planned that one. ^_^ But then again, I haven't planned much of this yet. 

Hotshot: Yeah, the problem is I already have a piece called No One Sees, which is the same premise, but not newsies. *sigh* Maybe I'll retitle that one. You're going to have to break away from the movie a bit to make this believable *wince* sorry. Eh. Don't think I managed to un-cliqueate (hehe) this, but maybe it's done in a different way? Oh, well. Thanks!

Kitten-Luv/LucifersEnvoyAngel: Eh. Long name you've got there. Isn't he cool? He was the perfect narrator for this one.

Cards: lol here you go. Next chapter should be shorter, but it'll probably take longer. Sorry…. 

Dr. Linkinshlof: Thank you! Er…race's diary? Heehaw….hehehe…..*nervous laughter* yeah, I'll finish it sometime, hopefully. 

Keza: hehehe….Pie Eater fans. Yeah, I'm trying for something long here. *crosses fingers* thank you!

Merlin's Quill: Yeah, it's not supposed to really fit in with the rest of the story. Just kind of give a premise. o.O I don't want to know what she did….cause if you're thinking what I'm thinking…ok, never mind. This is getting too convoluted. Well, I can try a long fic! Can't I? ^_^

Falco Conlon: Eeep! Here's a chapter! I'd like to remain alive, please!

Raven's Wing: Thank you! Candy corn? o.O where?! *runs off in search of candy corn*

Moods: Wow, thanks a lot! Here's another chapter, next one should be up soon. *screams at snickering peanut gallery* it should, really!

Misprint: Thank you, I try. Hehehe….I do stuff like that. Or when someone says a line. Like "go home". Then I start reciting from there…hehe. Ok, getting off topic. Yes, quite deep….*backs away*

Raeghann: The rest is coming. Thanks!


	3. Knives

No-o-o-o-o-ot m-i-i-i-i-i-i-ine! *Beats on chest to get reverb effect* 

Note: Wow…*keels over dead* lots of reviews…thank you guys! Oh, and if you have any more ideas about the title, or about what should happen next, please inform me. ^_^

~*~

No one bothers Racetrack. Even Jack is wary, watches his step around him. Nobody ever refuses his anything. Nobody's ever ruffed him up, or tried to get him to take a side. He's a loner. He never takes part in any of the fights. He just sells his papers and gambles. As a rule of thumb, you never, ever bet or play cards with Race. Of course, you never want to refuse him, either. The best thing is just not to attract his attention. 

Skittery knew him before he came here. The two of them were friends or something. Skitts always stays out of everything and he almost never talks. But Race likes him, so no one bothers him either. Everyone's always real careful around Race.

Because Race has knives.

He uses them well, too, and has no regrets about doing so. You wouldn't think it to look at him. He's this tiny little jolly kind of guy, always making jokes. But after dark, he's completely different. He uses those knives to make sure people pay back their debts. Even when they don't have debts. 

It was an evening in late November the first time I saw it. I'd been in a fight and n no shape for selling, so I had to work the evening edition to make up for the lost money. It was almost entirely dark out and I only had a few papers left. I was heading down to the other end of the few blocks that made up my territory when I heard a familiar voice from around the corner. It was Itey, a young, quiet boy fairly new to the Lodging House. His voice was high and slightly hysteric.

"But I won! Remember? Oh…of course…I don't care about the money or anything…"

"Oh, did you really?" I snuck over and peered behind the building. Racetrack had Itey backed up against a wall. His back was to me, but I could imagine what Itey was seeing. "I don't think so. See, I seem to remember that _I_ won. And that you promised me some money." His voice was an icy hiss, but I could hear every word of it. 

"No! I'm sure I won. Hone-" He stopped abruptly, eyes wide, as a dully shining blade appeared at his throat.

"You're sure?"

Itey began to panic as I watched in shock. "Actually, now that I think of it, you did win, Race. Yes, you did. By a lot, really. Yes, I remember now…" the knife pressed harder, cutting off his words. 

"Good. I'm glad your memory's functioning again. Now what did you owe me?" 

I ran the length of the block, and didn't stop staring over my shoulder until I was far away. I threw out the remaining papers- it was too dark to sell, and I didn't want to risk being heard. I was a few streets away from the Lodging House when I was suddenly thrown into a wall from behind. An all too familiar voice hissed in my ear.

"I wouldn't say anything, if I was you." There was a sharp stinging pain and then I was alone, the back of my neck tacky with blood. 

There is a reason why everyone laughs at Racetrack's jokes. 

~*~

*Itey!muse squeals and hides under the bed* *sighs and gives him carrots* it's ok…. 

Wow!!! Thanks you guys! Oh, and so you know, the next chapter will probably take a lot longer. A -lot- longer. Sorry…*sheepish smile*

Hotshot: Hehe…I can tell. I'm not sure what's going on with Spot at this point. The gang weren't newsies, methinks. Just a random gang from Brooklyn. Random gangs from Brooklyn are good at disposing of characters you no longer need. ^_^ Gotta love 'em…anyway…yes! Evil characters are good! Ah, dang, forgot about Snitch and Itey. I'll have to do something about that…Thanks!

Keza: Oh…thanks….*grabs a towel and dries self off* 

Cards: Yeah, I know. Sorry it had to turn out that way…

Falco: Lol! Jack -is- an evil spirit breaker. Meep! I am updating!

Crunch: Oh, thank you! There's Race and Skittery for you. *sobs* I didn't mean it Race…I love you…*runs after evil murdering race and turns him back into sweet funny race* hehee…off topic…sorry

Ali: Wow…thanks a lot…yeah, I really did mean it. Really, honestly, truly, and all other words like that. ^_^

Misprint: hehehe. Maybe you should. Wouldn't want you to be offended, now. What side -would- you join? I'm curious. Bumlets is really evil in this one. I dunno why…I had an urge. Besides, he seemed like a good Jack body guard. 

Dr. Linkinshlof: Jaaack Keeelle….hehehe….I agree, that is horrible. Wow! I get a Spot story! He is my second fav. newsie, you know, next to Race. Thank you! *bounces around hyperly*

Moods: Thanks!

Merlin's Quill: hehehe….hehehehehehehe….etc, etc. Hey…hehehe isn't coming up as a spelling error. Strange. Isn't he sick and self-satisfied though? I just noticed it says prudly on your profile. Which by the way isn't showing up updated. To quote me from when? What? Lol! Oh, I wish I'd been there. That would've been hilarious. Who was in your group? *pats box on the head* *pats fic on the head* hehe. Maybe I'll write something from the pov of the review box sometime. *random ideas* see what you've done? Sheesh. I'm getting as offtopic as you. And wow, this was a long shout out. 

Mondie: I'M SORRY!!!!! Well, actually, I'm not. But I can pretend. ^_^ would you like me to? I'm sorry I made you sad. *tries to decode your sign off* Seize the day, carry(in') the banner, pelvic thrusts forever, err, umm, well, here's your knife, um, hmm, huh? Yeah. Right. *feels stupid*


	4. Fatal Secrets

Not mine.

Note: This chapter takes place after the strike. It also contains mentions of slash (very unusual pairing!) and super-dee-duper evil newsies. As if you weren't expecting that. I have also reached the end of everything I've planned for this story. So any and all ideas are welcome. (*hinthintnudgenudge*) 

BEFORE YOU READ THIS: Here is a contract stating that you will not kill, maim, or otherwise harm me because of this chapter's contents. If you would just sign here and here. Thank you. 

~*~

It rained this morning, and when I got back from selling the only thing on my mind was a change of clothing. I could tell that something was different as soon as I walked into the Lodging House. Everyone was sitting in the lobby, talking quietly. Several of them started up when I opened the door. I knew better than to ask, though, and headed upstairs without a word.

The bunkroom was strange and quiet with on one in it, and I changed as quickly as I could. I hung my wet shirt over the side of the bunk to dry and turned to go back. 

As I was descending the stairs, the door opened once again to admit Mush, worn out and wet, but cheerful. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kloppman vanish into his office and close the door, blocking out whatever was about to happen. 

Kid Blink stood and crossed the now silent room until he stood just inches away from Mush, who was looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"You'll never guess what I saw today in the alley off of Bleaker. I saw you and Swifty. And it looked an awful lot like the two of you was _kissin'_." He practically spat the last word. His statement caused quite some excitement and boys began to whisper and mutter to each other all around the room. 

"No! No! It ain't true! Don't listen to him!" Mush began to panic, backing toward the door. Suddenly, a scream echoed from outside. Snitch leapt to his feet and kicked the door open. We could all see Snoddy holding Swifty at knifepoint against the opposite building. 

"Why don't you go and help your lover? Faggot!" Without warning, Blink swung at his friend. Mush ducked, then turned and bolted outside. A wave of boys surged out after him. They crowded around where Swifty and Snoddy were fighting for the knife. The screams got louder and louder until Swifty got away. He was running, running, and then Specs came out of nowhere with a club and the screaming stopped. 

As one, the boys turned and went back inside, leaving two broken, mangled bodies on the street. It had only taken a few minutes. I didn't check for a pulse- even that one act would've condemned me. 

Besides, I knew there wouldn't have been one.

~*~

*Runs away from screaming angry fans who are out for her blood* look! *Waves contract around* you said you wouldn't hurt me! Aaaaaaah!!!!!!

Sorry, guys, but I had to do it. *sniffles* Can't believe I wrote that…

Please, any ideas for future chapters are encouraged! Or else you might not get an update while I sit here trying to think of one.


End file.
